1974 Spanish Grand Prix
|poletime = 1:18.44 |fastestlap = 1:20.83 |fastestlapdriver = Niki Lauda |fastestlapnation = AUT |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 47 |winner = Niki Lauda |winnernation = AUT |winnerteam = |second = Clay Regazzoni |secondnation = SUI |secondteam = |third = Emerson Fittipaldi |thirdnation = BRA |thirdteam = }} The 1974 Spanish Grand Prix, otherwise known as the XX Gran Premio de España, was the fourth round of the 1974 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Circuito del Jarama near Madrid, on the 28th April, 1974.'GRAND PRIX RESULTS: SPANISH GP, 1974', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2016), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr239.html, (Accessed 20/03/2017) The race would be remembered for a huge crash by Arturo Merzario, which saw the Italian and several photographers emerge miraculously unharmed, as well as the maiden victory for a future, triple, World Champion. Niki Lauda claimed pole during practice/qualifying, which had seen another huge crash by Patrick Depailler, although the Frenchman also escape uninjured, and made the race start. Ronnie Peterson, meanwhile, put the new Lotus 76 onto the front row, while Championship leader Clay Regazzoni shared row two with Emerson Fittipaldi. Rain on race day meant there would be a universal decision to start with full wet tyres, with Peterson slithering off the line fastest to take the lead. Lauda and Regazzoni claimed second and third behind the Lotus, while Jacky Ickx leapt into fourth ahead of Fittipaldi. The early laps saw most of the drivers attempt to battle the spray rather than each other, meaning the order remained stable for some time. Fittipaldi was the only man on the move, falling down the order after developing a misfire, although strong pace in the first few laps meant he only dropped behind Jody Scheckter in the early stages. It was not long before the track dried, however, and so the pits became the centre of attention as the entire field swept in for slicks. The first major changed occurred during this period, as Peterson elected to stay out a lap longer than everyone else, only to suffer an engine failure around the back of the circuit. The sister car of Ickx was also in trouble, as the Belgian was released from the pits before the left rear wheel had been fastened on properly. Through all the chaos in the pits, the two Ferraris were now leading, Lauda ahead of Regazzoni, while wet weather master Hans-Joachim Stuck had been catapulted up to third. Merzario was up to fourth, although his race was about to come to an end when his hit a wet patch, sending the Italian hurtling towards a barrier. Out of control there was little Merzario could do to prevent his car from vaulting over the Armco, landing among a group of photographers, who sprinted clear of a low flying F1 car. Fortunately, all of those in the path escaped without injury, while a rather bemused Merzario climbed out of the car unhurt. That proved to be the last incident of the race, which was stopped on the two hour mark with six laps still to be completed. Lauda duly collected a maiden victory in only his third season of Formula One, while Regazzoni continued to lead the World Championship, despite failing to claim victory yet again. Stuck was denied a maiden podium by a recovering Fittipaldi, while Scheckter and Denny Hulme completed the top six. Background 1974 would see the Spanish Grand Prix head back to the Circuito del Jarama, just a few miles north of Madrid, after the 1973 edition staged on the Montjuïc Park Circuit in Barcelona.D.S.J., 'The Spanish Grand Prix: Ferrari Dominates', motorsportmagazine.com, (Motor Sport, 01/06/1974), http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/june-1974/34/spanish-grand-prix-ferrari-dominates, (Accessed 20/03/2017) There had been very little change to the Jarama circuit since F1's last visit, although there was a brand new grandstand erected to spoil the view of the distant Guadarrama mountains. The entry list, in contrast, had changed, with several new cars ready to race at the start of European tour of 1974. The new equipment came with two new teams, albeit being run by figures with several years of F1 experience behind them. The first of these was Chris Amon, who had re-founded Chris Amon Racing after leaving to build his own car. The Kiwi had partnered with designer Gordon Fowell to build a new car, the Amon AF101, using the familiar DFV engine. Although it was not a revolutionary design, Fowell had incorporated a lot of modern F1 technology in the design, including torsion bar suspension and specially made brakes from Lockheed.D.S.J., 'Notes on the cars at Jarama', motorsportmagazine.com, (Motor Sport, 01/06/1974), http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/june-1974/36/notes-cars-jarama, (Accessed 20/03/2017) The second effort came from the design board of Ron Tauranac, who had been effectively working as a freelance consultant since leaving in 1971. Yet, the veteran Aussie designer had been tempted back into a full F1 programme by Peter Agg, founder of the new effort located in Croydon, U.K. Their combined efforts resulted in the new Trojan T103 which, while remaining rather conventional, featured radiators on every corner, and a huge rear wing, bolted to the back of a rather angular monocoque. The car was then decked in the colours of Agg's financial investments from the world of imports, while Tim Schenken was drafted in to pilot the new car. Elsewhere, Silvio Moser was set to make a return to Grand Prix racing, entering a brace of BT42s for himself, only to suffer a huge accident in the 1000km of Monza the day before the Spanish Grand Prix. The Swiss racer was left in a serious condition in hospital, and so his two cars were loaded back onto the transporter and sent back to his base, much to the team's disappointment. His addition would have brought the tally of cars in the paddock to 39, a record for a Grand Prix meeting, although there had only been 29 official driver entries. The other major change came at , where Richard Robarts had been dropped in favour of Liechtensteiner Rikky von Opel. The switch came about after a poor start to the season for Robarts, while von Opel abandoned the faltering effort, taking his huge sponsorship funding with him. Unsurprisingly, Bernie Ecclestone was keen to bring the wealthy Liechtensteiner into the team, who would partner South Africa Grand Prix winner Carlos Reutemann for the rest of the season. The third, privately entered Brabham of John Watson was also in attendance. At , Ronnie Peterson and Jacky Ickx getting their two new 76s, minus the electronic clutches, while Peterson's old 72E was held in reserve. , in contrast, fielded an inflated effort of five cars for their pair Clay Regazzoni and Niki Lauda, with monocoques built both in Britain and Maranello in attendance. The team also brought a quintet of cars for their riders, Denny Hulme, Emerson Fittipaldi and Mike Hailwood, with three different wheel bases on offer for the trio. Ahead of the weekend staged a huge press event for the release of their newest creation, the 007, to be piloted by Jody Scheckter. Having been bathed in champagne by ex-driver Jackie Stewart, the new car essentially brought together the elements of the 005 and 006s that had served the team over the previous season, with no revolutionary traits. Patrick Depailler duly inherited the newer of the 006s, while the heavily revised 005 stood in as the reserve car. At , the break since Kyalami had not been long enough for them to build another of the P201s, meaning Jean-Pierre Beltoise would be the only one of their trio to use it. François Migault and Henri Pescarolo were therefore to use the older P160Es again, with a full compliment of spares to support the older pair of cars. They had a new livery for the weekend too, with a silver top line breaking up the all green livery used in the previous three races. , whose cars were being run by Embassy Racing, were back up to full strength, supplying three cars for Graham Hill and Guy Edwards. At , the oldest of the TS16s had been sold to Georgian prince Jorge de Bagration, who was set to race in Spain, while Carlos Pace and Jochen Mass used the three newer cars. Frank Williams Racing Cars also fielded a pair of drivers, Arturo Merzario and Tom Belsø, while Hesketh Racing brought their Hesketh 308 for James Hunt to drive, fresh from his victory at the 1974 BRDC International Trophy meeting. At there had been no major changes, with Hans-Joachim Stuck at the wheel of the green car, while Vittorio Brambilla piloted the orange effort. Finally, returned after their withdrawal from the South African Grand Prix, still in mourning after the death of Peter Revson just before that race. They had built a brand new car to replace Revson's ruined effort, to be raced by Brian Redman, while Jean-Pierre Jarier took over as team leader in his DN3. Despite failing to score at Kyalami, and yet to claim a win, Regazzoni headed into Europe leading the World Championship, and was the only driver in double figures after the opening three rounds. Victory for Reutemann in South Africa had put the Argentine racer in second, level on points with Fittipaldi and Hulme, each three having a win apiece, while Hailwood completed the quartet on nine with his podium finish. Beltoise remained in sixth after his best finish of the season, while Stuck and Merzario added their names to the board. In the International Cup for Manufacturers it was another successful afternoon for , as they pulled ten points clear of nearest challengers at the top of the table. were up to third thanks to Reutemann, Beltoise kept in the game after his podium, while just held onto a top five place after their double DNF. were now level on points with their arch-rivals, while and were also on the board, either-side of . Entry list The full entry list for the is outlined below: ** de Bagration's entry would ultimately be prevented from taking part in the meeting, after his entry was accidentally removed from the "official" entry list after confusion over his sponsorship funding. *† Hulme was originally entered with #6 as his race number, but took part with a McLaren issued with #56. Practice Overview Qualifying With the Spanish Grand Prix being hosted on a purpose built circuit, there would be a lot of time allocated for practice/qualifying, with four sessions held across Friday and Saturday. Each session was to last an hour and a half, for a combined total of six hours of running, with both days remaining dry. The target time was the 1:18.43 set by Jacky Ickx on his way to pole in 1972, while the Belgian's official lap record would be the minimum for the top teams at 1:21.01. Report Friday's first session started at a furious pace, as the two s of Niki Lauda and Clay Regazzoni screamed onto the circuit the moment the circuit opened. The pair, using the two chassis built in Maranello, quickly began setting the pace, and spent most of the first session over a second quicker than anyone else. Ultimately, it would be Lauda who proved to be the quicker of the two, ending the day half a second clear of Regazzoni with a 1:18.70. Yet, while the Ferraris were looking supreme, the rest of the field seemed in disarray, with numerous incidents keeping marshals and mechanics busy. The first headache proved to be at , where newboy Rikky von Opel dumped all of his oil over the circuit, leaving Vittorio Brambilla to spin into a catch fence and damage his . Denny Hulme then wrote of the #6 McLaren M23 when he hit the oil slick, knocking over a rather brave marshal as he barrelled his way towards the guard rails. That caused a delay as the bent M23, and bruised marshal, were removed, while Graham Hill and François Migault had to sit out after the restart after mutual engine failures. For those who escaped issues in the early session, the second run on Friday would instead become a source of pain, with all bar the flawless Ferraris encountering an issue. , for example, had a rather mixed session, with Ronnie Peterson going fastest, having had to spend the first session largely in the pits, while teammate Ickx sat out most of the second session after a gearbox failure. Likewise, James Hunt looked quick in both the race and spare s, but could only complete a few laps in either before a brake issue saw him swap to the other. Elsewhere, Mike Hailwood was looking rather indifferent, the Brit not a fan of the Jarama style circuit having sampled most of the world's circuits. This was in stark contrast to two of the younger drivers of the field, as Hans-Joachim Stuck and Jean-Pierre Jarier spent the entire afternoon chucking their cars at every corner, although at the cost of quick lap times. Jody Scheckter was taking a measured approach, between Hailwood's despair and youthful enthusiasm, until his Tyrrell 007 failed at the end of Friday's running. Saturday saw Scheckter on the sidelines from the start, his Tyrrell managing a single lap before a brake failure ended his running. Chris Amon also struggled as his self titled decided to spend the afternoon overheating, meaning he missed out on adding a few battle scars to his charger. He, however, was in the same position as everyone else during the first Saturday session, as Ferrari returned their early Friday form and dominated, with Lauda returning to the top of the timesheets. Regazzoni would ultimately fall shy of Peterson's Friday best, but had halved the gap, while the Swede himself had a trouble free start to the day despite failing to improve. Emerson Fittipaldi had been quiet all weekend, only to vault himself into the top four at the end of the session, while Ickx also set his best time of the weekend to go fifth. Arturo Merzario and Denny Hulme also recorded their best efforts, although Carlos Reutemann was still holding on in sixth, despite failing to improve since the first session on Friday. Chaos once again reigned supreme in the final session of practice/qualifying, as one of the two Marches was written off, just after the pilot had set his best time of the weekend. Indeed, Brambilla had been running strongly in the final Saturday session when he suffered a brake failure at the end of the start/finish straight, and was left to careen into the catch fences for the second time in two days. Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Patrick Depailler joined Brambilla in the catch fencing at turn one, while François Migault threw his into the barriers at the final corner. All four cars would require overnight work to get them fighting fit, although March were eventually forced to withdraw Brambilla's ruined car on race morning. With the quick times set earlier in the day, the focus of the final session switched to those battling to qualify at all. 26 grid slots were available, and although the field was effectively down to 27 runners, there was no guarantee that Brambilla would not make the start. Migault was another who looked to be in mechanical strife, although had the benefit of a full compliment of BRM spares at hand, so there was still drama to be had on circuit. Yet, the two that had struggled all weekend for pace were the pair who ultimately failed to qualify, as Tom Belsø and Guy Edwards missed the mark, over three and a half seconds slower than pole sitting Lauda. Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. ** Brambilla was unable to make the start, but the organisers opted not to allow one of the "DNQs" from taking part. Grid Race Sunday, in contrast to the two practice days, dawned grey and miserable, with a steady stream of rain falling over the circuit for the entire morning. The warm-up session was more valuable than ever, with the entire field taking time to make wet-weather adjustments, while the various casualties from Saturday got a chance to test their repaired equipment. Otherwise, all 25 confirmed starters, which included Tim Schenken after Vittorio Brambilla was officially withdrawn, made their way onto the grid fighting fit and ready to race, all on full wet tyres. Report When the flag dropped it was Ronnie Peterson who leapt into the lead, the Swede getting more traction than pole sitter Niki Lauda on the "dirty" side of the grid. The Austrian, and his teammate Clay Regazzoni therefore slithered into second and third, while Jacky Ickx beat Emerson Fittipaldi into fourth, before the spray shrouded the field. Yet, despite the wall of water, the entire field escaped into the first corner without issue, although in what order was anyone's guess. Rather surprisingly, there had been no fallers around the opening tour, with Peterson steaming past the pits ahead of Lauda, Regazzoni and Ickx. The lead quartet then had a slight advantage over fifth placed Fittipaldi, who had Jody Scheckter, Arturo Merzario, Carlos Reutemann, James Hunt, Jean-Pierre Jarier and Mike Hailwood all in close attendance. The rest of the field then filtered through in a steady stream, with all 25 runners preferring patience over exuberance. The following laps remained tame, although Hans-Joachim Stuck was causing a stir, passing cars left, right and centre as he climbed up from the back of the order, and looked supreme. The first casualty proved to be Jean-Pierre Beltoise on lap three when his new engine expired, leaving him stranded at the back of the circuit. At the lower end of the field, meanwhile, Chris Amon had slipped to the very back of the order after a promising start, while Brian Redman had his elbows out as he fought with Mike Hailwood over fourteenth place. The first pirouette of the afternoon would be performed by Reutemann who, like his , was not enjoying the miserable conditions. The Argentine racer ultimately called it a day on lap twelve after a second, more damaging excursion, leaving privateer John Watson as the best Brabham driver. Unfortunately for Reutemann, his disappearance came just as the spray began to die down and the clouds began to part. The drop in spray revealed that Peterson was both comfortable and consistent, simply keeping Lauda at bay rather than really pushing himself. The Austrian was fighting to keep the Swede in sight, while Regazzoni and Ickx had both been dropped from the "fight". Scheckter, meanwhile, was rewarded for an ambitious dive on Fittipaldi by claiming fifth, with the Brazilian unable to respond due to the fact that he was running with only seven cylinders. The rest of the field were getting stuck behind Merzario, although the Italian was up in seventh on his own merit in the latest Williams/ product. Hulme had battled through the pack to try and challenge Merzario, with Jarier, Stuck, Hunt and Jochen Mass grouped in tightly behind. Hailwood and Redman were still glued together ahead of Patrick Depailler, while Schenken was as high as seventeenth in the new . The overall race, however, remained rather tame, the only change of note coming when Hulme stopped in the pits on lap 11 to complain about a handling issue. Three laps later and Jarier was forced to visit his mechanics after having his nose removed by François Migault, the racer having been attempting to lap his countryman when the BRM decided to sweep across the circuit at the hairpin. Migault continued without any loss of pace, albeit at a relative crawl to the rest of the order, while Rikky von Opel dropped out of the race with a worsening oil leak. By lap seventeen the rain had completely stopped, with Peterson and Lauda now lapping the midfield group behind Merzario. The leading Swede would get baulked during this phase of the race, although with the track drying quickly Lauda could not push on at the risk of burning through his tyres. It was during this transitional phase that decided to bring in wet weather specialist Stuck, who swept out of the pits on slicks at the start of lap eighteen. Stuck left the pits at the back of the field, although he was instantly looking quicker through the early corners of the lap than he had all day. This signalled a steady trickle into the pits by the back markers, with Watson and Amon in, while Regazzoni decided to gamble early from third. The Swiss racer timed his stop perfectly, for he swept back into the action just as the rest of the field decided it was time to swap to slicks. Tyre changes in 1970s Grand Prix racing were rare, and with no pit lane speed limit the scene quickly became one of barely contained chaos. Peterson lost the lead when slowing to enter the pits, Lauda opting to complete another lap and avoid getting held behind a slower car. Ickx then swept into the lead once Lauda stopped, although by the time the Belgian swept back into action after his stop the entire picture of the race had changed. During the stops, no one had noticed that Peterson had suffered an engine failure at the back of the circuit, having lost all of the water from his engine. Ickx, meanwhile, had been left out too long before he stopped, while Regazzoni had gained a huge amount of time by stopping early. It was therefore Lauda leading by a couple of seconds from his Swiss teammate, while Ickx himself had been relegated to the back of the pack. Third place, therefore, was occupied by the rather mesmerising Stuck, who was flying in the tricky conditions, and had been catapulted up the order after being the earliest pitter. Elsewhere, Amon was out after a brake failure, only the Kiwi's natural talents keeping him out of the barriers, while Migault was no longer a danger to himself when his BRM engine expired. Mass was another retiree when his gearbox failed, while Graham Hill's day came to a quiet end when his third engine of the weekend expired. It was during this post-pits phase of the race that Merzario's race came to an end in spectacular fashion. The Italian racer was out on slicks when he hit a still damp piece of track, and before Merzario could act his Iso-Marlboro shot sideways and smacked the top of the barriers. A somersault saw the ruined Williams/Iso-Marlboro land back on its wheels amid compliment of ruined photography equipment, while Merzario climbed out unharmed. The photographers that were camped out at the corner also escaped without injury, with the race carrying on unabated. Elsewhere, Fittipaldi was now on the war path, his having been brought back to full strength during his stop for slicks with a change of spark plugs. The team had also adjusted the rear suspension to cope better on a drying circuit, and the Brazilian relentlessly closed on Stuck, whose pace was beginning to waiver as the circuit dried. With thirty laps to go the German was powerless to deny the hard charging Fittipaldi, who breezed past on the brakes into turn one, before sprinting off to chase the flawless s. After that move the race began to wind down, with the entire field now awaiting the arrival of chequered flag. The wet weather at the start virtually guaranteed that the race would time limited, and as the clock hit 1:55:00 there were still ten laps to go. Minor changes in the final moments saw Hulme break into the points, and somehow gain a lap over seventh placed Redman, while Hunt's pace deteriorated enough to relegate him to the back of the top ten. Ultimately, however, the chequered flag would be waved at the end of lap 84, with Niki Lauda cruising home to a maiden World Championship win, and the first for Ferrari since 1972. Regazzoni came home thirty seconds later, while Fittipaldi was a lap down in third, courtesy of his engine issue pre-stops. Stuck was delighted in fourth ahead of Scheckter, while the final point went to Hulme. Results The full results for the are outlined below: ** Schenken was still classified, despite failing to complete the final lap, as he had completed 90% of the race distance. *† Jarier, in contrast, could not be classified as he had failed to complete 90% of the race distance. *‡ Brambilla was unable to start after his practice/qualifying accident. Milestones *The Spanish Grand Prix was one of the first to be stopped early due to the new two hour race limit. * and made their competitive debuts in Formula One. *Second pole position for Niki Lauda. *Lauda claimed his first World Championship victory. **Also the Austrian's first fastest lap and first hat-trick. * scored their fiftieth victory as both a constructor and engine supplier. *Emerson Fittipaldi claimed 's 40th podium finish. Standings Although he was still yet to win in 1974, it was Clay Regazzoni who continued to hold the lead in the World Championship standings, the Swiss racer starting the European season with a one point advantage. Teammate Niki Lauda had launched himself into second with his maiden win, leapfrogging Emerson Fittipaldi and Denny Hulme in the process, who both scored in Spain. Carlos Reutemann slipped to fifth with Mike Hailwood, while Jody Scheckter became the fourteenth driver to score after his fifth place finish. A one-two had dramatic effects on the International Cup for Manufacturers' standings, with the Italian firm carving a huge chunk out of 's pre-Europe advantage. The British effort was left with a five point advantage at the top of the standings, with those two looking set to duel for the crown on their own. were next, twelve points behind, while continued their downward plummet, leaving Spain down in seventh place. References Images and Videos * Category:Grand Prix articles Category:1974 Grands Prix Category:Spanish Grand Prix Category:Formula One races in Spain